Historical Traveler Reviews El Oceano Beach Hotel Marbella

A lovely hotel,

from Ginamelanie

with many fine points. The restaurant and food are both excellent but on a couple of occasions spoilt by the volume of the live music which almost made conversation impossible. The pool area and bar snacks are great but unfortunately again the music was far too loud and people were complaining.

Overall a great find and one which we will be visiting again not least because of the wonderful staff.

What A Place!!

from MiaBaby

We stayed at this lovely hotel earlier this month.

It was incredible!! I have to agree the front of the hotel is a little misleading but when you enter you immidiately get the 5* feel. We had a mini suite and it was lovely. The bed was huge and the bathroom was large with a powerful shower. The view was incredible - with huge sliding windows and the sea just yards away. To wake up to that view each morning was wonderful.

The staff were the friendliest I have ever encounterd and we were on first names with Glen the manager and most of the staff for the whole week. Nothing was too much trouble! The bar staff were great fun and could not do enough - especially Matt in the main bar - what a great guy!!

We got engaged whilst we were staying and all the staff came and congratulated us which made everthing even more special. We had a very boozy night with friends who came to eat with us - they have a villa at Calahonda. They said the hotel had an excellent reputation for food in the area and you usually had to book weeks in advance for a table.

The food is amazing - we tend to eat out at expensive restaurants so have a pretty good idea overall on what we like. We could not fault it and we had lunch and dinner 4 out of 7 days going into Puerto Banus a couple of times. The menu was very extensive and totally delicious!!

I have read reviews to say its overpriced and I agree its not the cheapest. But if you can afford to, its worth every single penny.

We will be going back as we thought it was excellent!!!!

Loved it!

from Candy06

We stayed in El Oceano for our wedding/honeymoon in June 2006.(we were getting married in the area) We were a little disappointed when we saw the front of the hotel as the website looked so fantastic but once we got inside we realised that all the beauty of this hotel is to the back, and everything did look just like you see it on the Internet!

We had a fabulous mini-suite at the corner of the hotel with hotel slippers and dressing gowns and it felt so luxurious! We also had a more or less completely private balcony overlooking the sea. (Some of the other balconies overlook the swimming pool area) I would advise that you book either a mini or deluxe suite because the double rooms all seem to be at the front of the hotel so you don't get the fantastic views of the ocean.

There are 2 towns near El Oceano, Riveria del Col and LaCala. These are both about 15-20mins on foot. There is also a bus stop about 5mins away which will bring you to different areas in the Costas. LaCala would be your best bet of the nearby towns as it is a really lovely village with a great Irish bar called Biddys!

But back to the hotel, we loved every second of our stay there, we ate in the restaurant a number of times and always found the food to be first class. There was also nightly entertainment in the restaurant. The staff throughout the hotel were really friendly and we were on first name terms with a number of them. The gang in the El Oceano Spa were exceptionally friendly and helped me out on my wedding day with hair make-up etc and made me feel like I was the most special person in the world-and you can't buy that kind of treatment.

I thought that it was a great place to stay but would be for that 'special' holiday rather than a regular trip to Spain.

Divine

from anonymous

This hotel is beautiful and I'm sure that if you go you will think so too. The hotel is quaint, clean and incredibly tranquil. The staff are lovely everytime I come here whether just eating or staying there. You will not get a nicer Sunday Lunch anywhere on the coast and all the other food is of superb quality ALWAYS! If you dont mind paying that little extra to stay somewhere that oozes charm and sophistication the the El Oceano Beach Hotel is the place to stay!

Way overpriced

from Elmwoodone

Stayed here in june 06 , while the rooms were clean and the pool area is nice, the staff could have been more friendly. Ate in the hotels resteraunt and was served a raw uncleaned prawn, when I complained ,the waiter was not too bothered he said there would be no charge for my raw prawns! That was very nice!

At over 300 euro a night with dinner this hotel is way over priced and to add insult you have to pay a 5 euro supplement , per person if you want a cooked english breakfast. Also 8.50 for a brandy in hotel bar and it wasnt the usual generous spanish measure I would give this place a wide berth much better value further down the coast. Shame This hotel could be great with very little effort on the managements behalf.But they have a couldnt care less attitude.

El Oceano - not good

from anonymous

We stayed at El Oceano for just under a week last September. We stayed in the Mijas Hotel before we went down to the coast, which was absolutely lovely, so when we arrived at El Oceano it was rather disappointing. It's on the beach but with a motorway on the other side. It's in a very quiet location and there's no where close by to have a drink or a nice meal, so unless you're driving or getting on the bus, you're pretty much stuck there.

Our room was at the front of the hotel so you could hear the motorway. The room was ok, but for the price it's not up to scratch. Really needed a refurb. Dodgy pine furniture and curtains that smelt of insect repellant. Air con didn't seem to work properly, asked someone to look at it but don't think anyone did.

The pool area and beach are attractive but pool looked like it needed a clean, lots of things floating in it. The pool bar is really expensive for sandwhiches and water and the only other place nearby is a beach bar about 10 mins away.

Breakfast was ok, cocktail glasses with fruit in - very 80's! Ate in the restaurant once for dinner and the food was actually quite good - but again completely over priced. Drinks in the bar also cost a fortune. I'm not sure why this place is so expensive, i think the owners (and some of it's guests) think it's an exclusive resort, but it just isn't.

If you're willing to get ripped off and want to feel like your're still in Britain - this is the place for you! Overall it was extremely disappointing and not worth the money.

Beautiful but not Spain!

from Burntwood

The hotel itself is stunning - particularly the location. Sitting outside, overlooking the sea, it is peaceful and beautiful. The room was spacious and comfortable and well equipped. The food is great - very international, good selection and beautifully presented: even the fruit and yoghurt at breakfast are served in cocktail glasses. The entertainment raises a smile...

We had an 'ocean front mini suite' and probably had the only one which wasn't located on the front of the building - but we did have a very large terrace (two loungers, table and chairs) and could see the sea as we were at the end of the building. However, it also meant we were on the road side, which was quite noisy during the day and at night.

Whether you enjoy your stay depends on what you're looking for. Despite all the positive aspects of the hotel our stay was dissapointing - we were seeking the Spanish experience and what we got was a hotel that could have been anywhere (Brighton??), that was full of loud, middle-aged English holiday makers and where English was the dominant language. Probably my fault for expecting any hotel on the Costa del Sol to not be touristy! But overall it was pricey and we'd have better spent our money elsewhere.

Lovely Hotel, Shame about Some of the Guests

from sam_cork

Stayed at the El Oceano in May last year.

The hotel itself was lovely, the restaurant (if not a little pricey) was of excellent quality - both food and service.

The outdoor bar and pool area was a relaxing & tranquil setting for anyone who wants to sit back and relax.

The main issue we had was during our week stay, there were two weddings which took over the hotel and this was not told to us upon booking. On wedding day, facilities were closed and anything that was open was maintained by one busy member of staff.

Towards the end of the week, there were a rowdy group of guests outside, stealing items from the pool bar, making a noise, leaving litter etc... which management thought was ok and left them to their own devices. A little disappointing for a hotel of this standard.

Chilled to the extreme!

from janeymac64

We visited El Oceano for a couple of nights at the beginning of our honeymoon. Although we arrived (very!) late, we were pleasantly welcomed and an appointment was made for a repair to my false nail - for the day after next as the nail technician didn't work the following day, which was fine by me. By the time we reached our jacuzzi suite (which wasn't as large as we expected - and no candles supplied LOL), the phone rang and I was advised that the technician would come in to the hotel next day, just for me. This was 11.30 at night!

Unfortunately, we had no bathrobes in the room that evening, though we did have a quick test of the jacuzzi which was nice. Robes were provided first thing next morning.

Breakfast was fab, followed by a visit to get my nails done, my husband had a massage, and we booked to return the following day - I had my hair done and my husband had a pedicure. Prices were no more than an average decent salon, but the service was fantastic.

We had dinner in the restaurant on the second night, and it was absolutely marvellous - the quality was superb and the flavours divine. The sommelier was very interesting and helpful and our discussion with him was something we enjoyed very much.

We were lucky as we had some glorious sunshine, which really made our couple of days - however, we would have been happy to sit around indoors amusing ourselves in the spa, the beauty room, or the bedroom ;-) as it was all so lovely.

TripAdvisor Reviews El Oceano Beach Hotel Marbella

Outstanding

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